Anode for electrolytic refining

ABSTRACT

The invention relates to an anode used in the electrolytic refining of copper, said anode ( 1 ) comprising two support parts ( 2 ), whereby the anode ( 1 ) is suspended during the electrolytic process against the electrolytic tank walls. According to the invention, in the anode support parts ( 2 ) there are formed brackets ( 3 ) for gripping the anode ( 1 ) and for supporting the anode ( 1 ) when it is being transferred from one position to another.

The present invention relates to a soluble copper anode for electrolyticrefining, which anode is immersed in a tank used in electrolyticrefining and lifted up from said tank, so that the gripping membersprovided in the charging member are protected from getting into contactwith the tank walls.

The cathodes and anodes serving as electrodes in the electrolyticrefining of copper are placed in an alternating fashion in a tankcontaining the electrolytic solution. In order to advantageously performelectrolytic refining, the electrodes are positioned as near to eachother as possible, and the mutual positioning of the electrodes must becarried out as precisely as possible in order to avoid short circuits.Although the anodes and cathodes are subjected to completely differentoperations both before their immersion in the electrolytic tank andafter being lifted up therefrom, it is advantageous for the operation ofthe charging member that the charging member, while being positionedabove the electrolytic tank, can handle both anodes and cathodes at thesame time. Therefore the charging member is advantageously provided withseparate gripping members designed for anodes and cathodes respectively.

When using an anode that is soluble in the electrolytic solution, theanode lugs that support the anode both during loading and during theelectronic treatment are made of the same soluble material, andtherefore the anode lugs are made as short as possible. Thus the anodegripping members in connection with loading extend essentially near tothe tank walls and to the conductor rails with insulation suspended fromthe tank walls, in which case even slight erroneous movements of thegripping member could result in the damaging of the tanks, conductorrails or insulation.

When using copper anodes of the conventional shape, where the grip pointbetween the lugs and the charging member is located in between theelectrolytic tank wall and the plate-like part of the anode, the surfaceof the electrolytic solution contained in the electrolytic tank must beessentially low with respect to the conductor rails suspended from thetank walls, so that the anode lug designs required by the anodetreatment are prevented from entering the electrolytic solution and thusfrom interfering the electrolytic process itself. When the surface ofthe electrolytic solution is kept low, the investment and runningexpenses of the electrolytic plant are increased—owing to an increasedamount of anode scrap, among other reasons.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The object of the present invention is to eliminate some of thedrawbacks of the prior art and to realize and improved and more feasiblesoluble anode designed for the electrolytic refining of copper, in whichanode the grip point in between the anode lug and the charging member isadjusted in order to be able to load both the anodes and the cathodesused in electrolytic refining in an essentially simultaneous fashion.The essential novel features of the invention are apparent from theappended claims.

In the soluble anode meant for the electrolytic refining of copper, inthe suspension part of the anode, which suspends the anode in theelectrolytic tank during the electrolytic process, there is formed,advantageously when casting the anode, a bracket, so that the end ofsaid bracket that points away from the anode suspension part is directedtowards the center line of the anode or towards an imaginarycontinuation of said center line. Thus the suspension part of an anodethat is provided with a bracket can be thoroughly gripped above theliquid surface of the electrolytic solution contained in theelectrolytic tank—and by using a motion of the gripping member thattakes place essentially far from the electrolytic tank walls. Accordingto the invention, the bracket formed in the anode suspension partsupports the anode during transportation to the electrolytic tank,during the immersion into and lifting up from the electrolytic tank, andduring further transportation away from the electrolytic tank. Thus thesupport part proper supports the anode only while the anode is beingimmersed in the electrolytic tank.

Because the electrodes, the cathodes and anodes, used in theelectrolytic refining of copper carried out in an electrolytic tank, areduring the electrolytic process suspended from the electrolytic tankwalls by means of two separate support parts that are located onopposite sides of the center line of the electrodes, in the anodeaccording to the present invention the grip bracket is likewise formedseparately for both support parts, advantageously so that the bracketends directed away from the support part are pointed towards each other.

According to the invention, the bracket formed in the anode support partis advantageously positioned so that the bracket end directed away fromthe support part is located essentially at the same height as that endof the support part that points away from the center line of the anode.Now the bracket is advantageously essentially parallel with the supportpart along the whole length thereof. That end of the bracket that pointsaway from the support part may also be located at a different height,either higher or lower, than the end that is directed away from theanode center line. In that case at least part of the bracket forms asharp angle in relation to the support part. The length of the bracketis advantageously such that a sufficient support is obtained by means ofthe gripping member provided in the charging member in order to transferthe anode from one position to another. Moreover, the brackets providedin the support parts of an anode according to the invention are locatedso that the brackets are positioned essentially symmetrically withrespect to the anode center line.

When employing a soluble anode meant for electrolytic refining accordingto the invention, where the support part of said anode is provided witha bracket for suspending the anode in connection with transportation, itis essentially easy to handle mixed anode and cathode loads with acharging member, because the gripping members provided in the chargingmember and matching the bracket do not need to penetrate in between theanodes and cathodes, where there is usually no room for the anodegripping member. In addition, a bracketed anode according to theinvention can be gripped so that the location of the anode with respectto the gripping member can be adjusted in an essentially precisefashion. Moreover, the gripping member gripping the bracket is placedessentially far from the electrolytic tank walls and from the conductorrails with insulation provided on the walls, so that the gripping memberdoes not hit the walls or rails, at least not due to slight erroneousmovements.

Advantageously the bracket formed in the anode grip part according tothe invention and the gripping member that grips said bracket are alwayspositioned above the electrolytic solution contained in the electrolytictank, so that the treatment of the anode according to the invention doesnot in any way restrict a possible raising of the surface of theelectrolytic solution. By raising the surface of the electrolyticsolution, the investment and running costs of an electrolytic refiningplant can be advantageously cut. Thus for instance the amount of anodescrap is reduced, irrespective of separate grip brackets. Moreover, whena grip bracket is used in the anode grip part according to theinvention, the gripping of the anode need not be taken into accountwhile defining the respective dimensions of the electrolytic tank andthe cathodes and anodes serving as electrodes.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

The invention is explained in more detail below, with reference to theappended drawing, which is a front-view illustration of a preferredembodiment of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

According to the drawing, in a cast copper anode 1, there are formed, inconnection with the casting, support parts 2 in order to suspend theanode during the dissolution process taking place in the electrolytictank. Moreover, in connection with the casting, the support parts 2 areprovided with grip brackets 3 in order to support the anode while theanode is being moved by means of gripping members (not illustrated) thatare connected to the charging member and are known as such. In additionto this, the reference number 4 refers to that end of the grip bracket 3that points away from the support part, and the reference number 5refers to that end of the support part 2 that points away from theanode.

What is claimed is:
 1. An anode for the electrolytic refining of copper,said anode (1) containing two support parts (2), by which the anode (1)can be suspended during the electrolytic process against theelectrolytic tank walls, characterized in that when casting the anode(1), in the anode support parts (2), there are formed brackets (3) forgripping the anode (1) and for supporting the anode (1) whentransferring it from one position to another, so that the end (4) of thebracket (3) that points away from the support part is locatedessentially at the same height as the end (5) of the support part (2)that points away from the anode.
 2. An anode according to claim 1,characterized in that the bracket (3) is formed so that the end (4) ofthe bracket (3) that points away from the support part is directedtowards the end (4) of the bracket that is located in the second supportpart (2) of the anode and points away from that.
 3. An anode accordingto claim 1, characterized in that the bracket (3) is essentiallyparallel to the support part (2) along the whole length thereof.
 4. Ananode according to claim 1, characterized in that the brackets (3)formed in the support parts (2) are in an essentially symmetricalposition with respect to the center line of the anode 1.